


Not What They Meant By Paint By Numbers

by stevergrsno (noxlunate)



Series: Happy Steve Bingo Fills [11]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, In a sense, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Steve Rogers, Pining, Single Parents, Teacher Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 08:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16260689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxlunate/pseuds/stevergrsno
Summary: “Yeah, yeah, Bob Ross.”“That’s not at all insulting and you know it. Now, get to painting. Use your hands, connect with your child, blah blah. We all know we’re really here because this is the first time today any of us have been in a room and interacting with other adults that aren’t our coworkers.”“I’mhere to connect with my child.” Scott says as he helps Cassie dip her hand into bright red paint and then smear it across the canvas.“I’m here for neither. It’s all about the free snacks.” Clint says as little Yury plants his hand directly in the purple and then smears it right across Clint’s face. “Aw, Yury,no."In which Steve's Parent and Tot art class does finger painting and Steve only spends part of it pining over Hot Single Dad Bucky Barnes.





	Not What They Meant By Paint By Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my fill for the "Finger Painting" spot on my Happy Steve Bingo card! Please love it and give me the validation I crave.

“Today we’re going to have a lot of fun with paint.” Steve says to the Parent And Tot art class during their Tuesday afternoon session. Amelia is propped up on Steve’s hip and has wedged a piece of Steve’s shirt into her mouth somehow and is chewing away at it. Steve has already given up on any piece of clothing ever escaping being a chew toy for his daughter.

“So what you’re saying is, I should have worn clothes I _don’t_ like because my two year old is about to cover me in paint?” Bucky Barnes asks. Steve assumes the question is rhetorical, but Steve jumps at nearly any chance to talk to his favorite father/daughter duo.

“I’m sure you’ll turn out a masterpiece, even if your clothes are sacrificed for it.” Steve says, and then hopes to whoever’s listening that it’s taken as a joke.

Steve is absolutely and completely 100% _not_ pining over one of the parents in his Parent And Tot art class. He’s _not._ It’s just that after six months teaching this particular class Bucky and Gracie are his favorite Parent/Tot duo. He’s _allowed_ to have favorites.

Bucky snorts, dragging his aforementioned daughter down from where Gracie is trying to physically climb Bucky like a jungle gym and settling her into his lap. “I’ll tell my dry cleaner that it was for the sake of art.”

Steve can feel his smile turning into something ridiculous at that.

Okay. So maybe he’s a little bit, a tiny bit, a  _minuscule amount_ into Bucky. In his defense anyone with eyes would be into Bucky.

“Are you gonna tell us what we’re doing, or are you going to keep making eyes at each other while Amelia eats your wallet?” Carol asks, bouncing Chewie in her lap. Steve’s 99% sure Chewie’s not the poor boy’s actual name. At least he _hopes_ it’s not.

More important than Chewie’s possible real name is his wallet. “Amelia, _how?”_ He asks, taking the leather wallet from Amelia’s hands and wiping the slobber away on his shirt before he pockets it again. He’s starting to truly believe the kid has the power to summon objects somehow. This can’t be _normal._

“Today’s class.” Bucky reminds before Steve can get too lost marveling at the ridiculousness that is _children_. He loves Amelia, but no one prepared him for just how  _weird_ raising a kid would be.

“Oh, oh, _right._ Sorry. We’re doing finger painting!” Steve says, bright and cheery as across the circle Tony groans the groan of the truly suffering. Or in Tony’s case it could just be boredom. Steve has no idea how the guy makes it through a class, but Pepper had missed one at the beginning of the class cycle and Tony’s been bringing the twins ever since. “It’ll be _fun.”_ Steve adds, emphatic as he bounces Amelia a couple times and diverts her hands before they can wrap around the collar of his shirt and make a decent go at strangling him.

“Right. _Fun._ I’m here to bring the twins intellectual stimulation and you’re giving me _fun_ Rogers?”

“Yep.” Steve says, popping his ‘p’ and utterly unrepentant. “Fun _is_ intellectual stimulation when they’re _infants.”_

“Yeah, yeah, Bob Ross.”

“That’s not at all insulting and you know it. Now, get to painting. Use your hands, connect with your child, blah blah. We all know we’re really here because this is the first time today any of us have been in a room and interacting with other adults that aren’t our coworkers.”

“ _I_ _’m_ here to connect with my child.” Scott says as he helps Cassie dip her hand into bright red paint and then smear it across the canvas.

“I’m here for neither. It’s all about the free snacks.” Clint says as little Yury plants his hand directly in the purple and then smears it right across Clint’s face. “Aw, Yury, _no.”_

“ _Same_. It’s all about the snacks.” Bucky says and he and Clint both lift their fists to meet in a fistbump across the circle without even looking at each other.

“Sure, sure, Barnes, it’s got absolutely nothing to do with how nice Rogers’ ass is.” Sam says, and he’s a _horrible, terrible, no good_ friend because he’s very clearly ignoring the fact that Steve has suddenly gone beet red and is very carefully not _not_ looking at Bucky.

“I would pay a lot more for these classes than I already do just for Rogers’ ass. That thing’s a work of art.” Bucky says, flashing Steve a grin that absolutely doesn’t make Steve want to melt like an ice cream cone on the sidewalk in the middle of summer.

“As the only person in this room with a degree in fine arts, I’m gonna have to tell you that’s not true.” Steve somehow manages, instead of the mashed up combination of vowels and consonants that _really_ wants to come out.

“You’ve got the exact dimensions of a giant dorito, Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood, if that’s not fine art than I don’t know what is.” Tony says right as Thing One throws a glob of yellow paint at Tony’s face and Thing Two bursts into giggles at the sight.   

Steve hides his satisfied grin in the top of Amelia’s head and absolutely doesn’t watch as Bucky Barnes doesn’t hide anything, laughing hard with his head tipped back. Steve’s eyes skirt along the long curve of his neck, the sharp line of his jaw, the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs.

His staring is only interrupted when Amelia slaps a hand to Steve’s mouth, wraps her tiny fingers around Steve’s bottom lip, and _pulls._

 

At the end of class Bucky thrusts his and Gracie’s canvas at Steve and says,  “Gracie wants you to have it.”

Steve blinks, stares at the riot of colorful paint, all topped off with Bucky’s phone number painted across it in large, stark black letters.

“Right. _Gracie’s_ who wanted me to have this. No way anyone else had a hand in this.” Steve says, eyebrows popping up, disbelief and sarcasm definitely ringing through.

“You’re kinda an asshole Steve, you know that?” Bucky asks, eyes bright and smiling in a way that can only be described as _fond._

“Oh yeah, Amelia’s mom lets me know every other weekend when she comes to pick her up. You sound a lot happier about it than she does though.” Which is maybe a little unfair to Amelia’s mom. Steve and Sharon have a pretty solid friendship that’s somehow managed to survive a one night stand and the subsequent arrival of Amelia. Still, Steve’s pretty sure there’s only so much fondness Sharon can have for him after the 29 hours of labor that Sharon insists she will remember vividly and hold against him for the rest of her life.

“ _Goodbye_ Steve. Make sure you use that.” Bucky says, flicking the top of the canvas. “Say bye Gracie.”

“Bye bye.” Gracie says around the fist she’s currently chewing on.

“Bye Gracie.” Steve ruffles the little girl’s hair and then Bucky’s turning and leaving the room, sucked into the group of parents and toddlers mingling in the lobby with the free snacks and coffee.

 

Steve dials the series of numbers finger painted onto the canvas and hits dial.

 _“Hello?”_ Bucky’s voice comes through, the vague confusion matching what Steve can just make out on his face across the parking lot.

“Hi.” Steve says and watches the confusion melt away, a smile replacing it while Clint signs _‘who is it?’_ and Bucky waves him off.

“When I said to use it I didn’t mean while we were still _here.”_

“What can I say, I’m a go getter.” It’s also just plain good strategizing. Amelia passed out the second her head hit the back of the carseat, which means she’ll nap the entire drive home and then be up and demanding Steve’s attention until they both pass out for the night. It means the soonest Steve would be able to call would be tomorrow, so really he’s just using his time wisely.

“I can’t say I hate it.” Bucky says, looking towards Steve’s car while beside him Clint mimes throwing up.

“How much would you hate going on a date with me?”

“I can’t say I’d hate that either.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna come shout with me about things, check out my tumblr [here!](http://stevergrsno.tumblr.com/tagged/my-writing)


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